Work Text:
August 10th, 1988.
It was Dani’s first day at her new job as a teacher at Twin Peaks Primary School back in Vermont. She had spent the last weeks of summer planning everything she needed to begin the school year properly- the lesson plans, the syllabus, the stamps she’ll put on her student’s notebooks when checking. She was just as excited as the kids were when summer vacations began.
She took the last sip of her coffee, washed her dishes and carefully placed Jamie’s breakfast on the table. She was still asleep, so Dani tried not to make so much noise. She then went to the bathroom to wash her teeth, put her coat on, and headed to the bedroom to say Jamie goodbye. For the first time in a while, they would be working separately. That made Dani a bit sad on the inside, too, since she won’t spend the whole day with her. But maybe it was also a good thing, she thought because that meant they would both cherish their time together more than they did.
She walked towards the bed and softly shook Jamie’s shoulder.
“Hey babe, I’m leaving for work” she said, as Jamie opened her eyes, still half-asleep.
Jamie stretched and quickly sat up on the bed.
“Good luck on your first day. Please call me whenever you can”
Dani took her hand in hers as she smiled at her.
“I will”
Dani leaned in for a soft goodbye kiss. After they broke apart, Jamie slowly caressed her cheek.
“You’re gonna be an amazing teacher”
“Thanks” Dani said, smiling shyly as she gave her another quick peck on the lips before leaving.
Jamie laid down in bed for a while, and several minutes after Dani was gone, she finally stood up and got dressed. The flower shop was on the same street they lived, so she had no rush to get in time. Then she headed to the kitchen and found out the table had been set for her. Dani had left her orange juice, some fruit, scrambled eggs and beans. There was a small note on the table as well. She picked it up and read it.
Have a nice day today! See you in the afternoon. Love you, - D
Jamie’s face lit up as a wide smile spread across her face. It was something so small -cooking for her and leaving a note-, but knowing Dani took the time meant everything to her. She put the note back on the table and sat down to eat the breakfast Dani made. When she finished, she headed to wash the dishes and tidy everything up for when they came back from work. She made the bed, watered the plants and left everything in order. She then put Dani’s note on the back of her notepad, put it inside her bag, closed the door to the flat and headed to the flower shop.
The day went by and Dani was enjoying her first day at school. The students weren’t very happy though, since a school year beginning meant the end of summer, but Dani tried to make the first day not so rough for them. She introduced herself, made some activities for them to get to know each other and talk about their vacations, and even gave them lollipops at the end of the day.
“This is for everyone to have a good start, okay?” she told them as she handed the candies out.
“Thank you, Miss Clayton” the kids responded as they headed out of the classroom.
Dani packed her things onto her bag and headed to the library to return the books she’d told the kids they will be using during the course. Then she finally headed out and took the bus home. She decided to stop by the supermarket first, to buy some groceries for the house. She then went back to her flat. It was early, so she left her bags and headed to the flower shop. As soon as she entered, she saw Jamie’s face light up once again. She was attending someone, so Dani waited until she was done. After the customers left, Dani walked towards Jamie, who was standing behind the counter, and she embraced her in a big hug.
“How was your first day?”
“It was actually great, I guess. The kids seemed nice, and they seemed to like my class as well. The teachers were very friendly, too!” she answered in a bubbly tone.
“You look so happy” Jamie said as she kissed her cheek. “I missed you, though”
Dani shared a warm smile as she softly gave her a peck on the lips.
“I did, too”
“Just give me fifteen minutes or so to finish this arrangement for a customer, and whenever I’m done we can head home, okay?”
“Take your time. I’ll wait here. We don’t have any rush, don’t we?” Dani said as she sat on the stool behind the counter. Jamie leaned in and kissed her again before she returned to her activities.
Days went by and Dani became more engaged with her new job. She enjoyed it, just as much as she always did. But that meant she and Jamie spent less time together. They only had time for themselves after the flower shop closed, which was around 20:00. Some days, they spend a nice evening together, talking about their day and cooking dinner together and eventually leading to some other activities, and some other days they were too tired and just watched a movie together. Dani saw Jamie was still happy even though she didn’t work with her full-time. But she somehow wanted her to feel her close. She knew it was cheeky, and she was just a call- and some bus stops- away, but she knew Jamie appreciated the small details. She knew she liked holding on to small things that reminded her of a memory, a person or a place. So she decided to do something about it.
Whenever she had free time at school, she wrote small notes on the sticky notes she carried with her. Some of them were just an “I love you” note, and some of them had longer messages. And when Jamie wasn’t around, at home or at the flower shop, she would place the notes somewhere for her to find them. In the mornings, she would place them on the fridge, on her side of the bed, or even on the door, before she left; so that Jamie read it when she was already gone for work. She even took some flowers from the shop and made a small arrangement for her, and left it on the dining table with the note aside. And sometimes, she left the house earlier to go to the flower shop and leave the notes on the counter or in the storage room, or even between the flowers which were ready to cut on the greenhouse.
At first, Jamie was surprised to find the notes Dani left. But it somehow made her feel loved. She never told Dani, but she always looked forward to the next note. Wherever it was a silly message or a more thoughtful one, she loved them all. She liked to have physical reminders of Dani, so that whenever they weren’t together, or if they were to be apart for some time, she knew she could always look back to those notes, those details, and take a piece of Dani with her wherever she went.